Pirates use comedy to fight breast cancer

The Pirates of Tokyo Bay, Japan’s bilingual improv comedy group, is honored to join forces with the University of Pennsylvania’s Basser Center, to put on a charity comedy show in Tokyo where all proceeds go to the Center’s breast cancer research. Ticket details here.

Show details: 
Sunday, August 13th
6:30pm at What the Dickens in Ebisu

Every year the Pirates have put on cancer charity shows supporting Livestrong Japan, Over Cancer Together and as the Pirates brand grows, the group is continually looking for more ways to give back to the community. We are using what we do best, improv comedy, to bring smiles to those involved with the serious fight against cancer and we couldn’t be more honored to do so.

If you are interested in working with us, contact us here or sponsor us.

Announcing Our New Intern: Welcome Jacob Machlis

Hi! I'm Jacob Machlis,

one of the Pirates of Tokyo Bay's newest interns!

I recently graduated from William Paterson University in May with a minor in Japanese Language and a major in Theater and Comedy. so interning with the Pirates of Tokyo Bay (POTB) is a perfect match!

My two month stay in Tokyo began in early June with the inevitable excitement/culture shock set in initially but now living here feels more like a vacation. Everything in Tokyo is new and exciting but also a bit overwhelming.

That change happened when I started working with the Pirates. Their ability to put create bilingual improv shows that really connect with a multicultural audience in Tokyo inspired me to spend the next few weeks working hard to improve my Japanese language skills and work toward coming back to Tokyo in the future to become a member of this talented troupe. #lifegoals

Watching and working with the Pirates has been very exciting. I am getting to learn first hand how much work is involved in creating a show that brings joy to such a diverse audience in Tokyo. My work ranges from the simpler tasks of making and collecting raffle tickets to the more creative aspects of choosing subjects for the performers during practice and taking photographs.

In addition to helping the Pirates, I’m working hard at learning how to be more self-sufficient, managing my time, improving my Japanese language skills, meeting new people from different cultures and exploring Tokyo.

All in all, my experience with Tokyo and the Pirates has been great.  I look forward to every day and try to do things I’d never get the opportunity to do in the United States!

SHOW RECAP: July 30th, Tokyo

July in Tokyo is all about festivals, rock concerts, sweaty salarymen, watermelon and summer fun and this month's Pirates of Tokyo Bay show had a little bit of all of those (and more)! Squaring off were two teams of Pirates, the Red team and the White team, both "fighting" for the audience laughs and votes casted in our app.  

On the Red team was: Mike, Bob, Annika, Tomoko and Trey.  
On the White team: Masa, Elliot, Roza, Rodger and Carlos.

The show opened with a bilingual music number inspired by summer in Japan. Taking suggestions from the audience ranging from sweat to cockroaches, the Pirates crafted a bilingual song backed by Ben Anderson on the piano. Points were given to the Red team for Tomoko's amazing singing. 

Score: Red 7, White 1.

Next up was a mixed team game done in Japanese called "Ding" and then on to the Red v. White team games.

Red team started off with "1 Thing" which is a gibberish game. An every day activity was gotten from the audience and then common items associated with that activity were replaced with crazy alternatives. Mike was the guesser for the Red team and successfully guessed that he was "Making Breakfast".  But the eggs were Pasmos, the pan was a car, the in-house chef was a starfish and the sponge to clean the pan was actually Cookie Monster. Crazy!

The White team followed up with their game, "Late for Work" where Roza had to guess why she was late to her job at a sushi restaurant. The suggestions she correctly guessed were that 1) she was late because her purse didn't match her dress, 2) she rode an elephant to get to work, 3) but on the way to work on the elephant, it went in to labor. 

After that round of games, the audience voted.

Score: Red 9, White 7

Next up were the Japanese game, "Whose Line" where the scene dialogue was dictated by lines of dialogue given by the audience and written down on strips of paper for the Pirates to use. As seems to be a trend recently, the phrase "Make America Great Again" made an appearance.

Right before intermission, the Pirates played "Action Replay" and then "Speed Dating". Both were bilingual games and "Speed Dating" involved longtime Pirate Fan, Alan as the guest on stage to guess a series of celebrities* he was on a speed date with. 

Score at intermission: Red 13, White 12

After the intermission and traditional selling of raffle tickets, the Pirates opened with a rarely played song-game, "In the Neighborhood". The highlight was Bob's debut as a singer! He won points for his Red team as the only singer in the game.

Score: Red 15, White 12

After a Japanese game of "Blind Dubbing", the Red and White teams squared off again for audience votes.

Red team went with "Marionettes" and invited a special fan, from Aoba International School in Japan where the Pirates workshopped with the kids earlier in the month. 

White team went with Sound FX where two audience participants provided all the sounds effects for the scene. Almost to an impressive realism!

Score: Red 17, White 12

The final game was audience favorite, "Rap Tinder" where the Pirates, backed by a custom-made rap beat, create verses based on audience submitted selfies that are projected above the stage. Masa won the battle and got "swiped right" to win.

FINAL Score: Red 18, White 32

Need tickets to our August 27th show? Get them here.

* Celebrities were played by Pirates. ;)

Workshop for the Association for Women in Finance「金融業界で働く女性の会」にて

The Pirates recently conducted a workshop for the members of the Association for Women in Finance (AWF) here in Tokyo.  The workshop was titled "Creative Confidence: How to Identify, Share, and Communicate Ideas" and was held at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch office in Tokyo.

先日、私たちは「金融業界で働く女性の会（AWF）」の会員の皆さんにワークショップをしてきました。この日のテーマは「創造力に自信を：見分け方・シェアの仕方・アイデアの伝え方について」でした。

The financial industry is a dynamic and high paced environment. We see rapid changes influenced by the market, regulation, and technology. With that in mind, AWF presented a session focusing on diversity, aiming to tap into your inner confidence and adaptability. It was a valuable opportunity to develop an ability to think on your feet, handle unexpected situations, and logically converse with people from different backgrounds, generations, and skillsets.

ダイナミックで常に躍動感がある金融業界。その急激な変化は市場、規制、テクノロジーによるものです。それを考慮したうえで、内なる自信と適応性を活用するために、AWFはダイバーシティに焦点を当てたセッションをプレゼンしました。迅速な決断、柔軟な対応、そして違う環境、異なる世代、様々なスキルを持った人たちと論理的に会話する能力を養うにはとても貴重な機会でした。

The feedback from the event was extremely positive and the Pirates look forward to working more closely with the various financial institutions that are members of the Association for Women in Finance.  

ワークショップ参加者の皆さんからとても嬉しいお声も頂きました。これを機にたくさんの方々に私たちのノウハウを伝授できることを楽しみにしています。

If you or your team is interested in having the Pirates conduct a similar workshop, please contact us here. 

私たちの即興ワークショップにご興味のある方は、ぜひこちらからご連絡くださいませ。